Sponsored by:
APRIL 22ND - 23RD, 2024
DeSoto House Hotel, Galena, IL
230 S. Main St.
Galena, IL 61036
THIS IS A FREE EVENT
INFORMATION
Enjoy early screenings of feature films, documentaries, and short films that will be at this year’s festival!
Monday, April 22nd
3:00PM
JAILHOUSE TO MILHOUSE
Directed by: Buddy Farmer
This is the courageous journey of Pamela Hayden, voice of the plucky, resilient Milhouse on “The Simpsons”: After surviving an abusive boarding school and juvenile jail, as well as other setbacks, Pamela now speaks to teen girls about overcoming obstacles and turning their dreams into reality. Her story is told with surprising humor and great candor.
67 MIN, GA, USA, ENGLISH, DOCUMENTARY
5:00PM
SHORT BLOCK 6:
MCDONNELL’S BAR AND UNDERTAKERS
Directed by: KEVEN SIEGERT
A film series that celebrates the generational nature of publicans, and the integral bond of the Irish pub to the community around it. Irish ethnicity, local lore, geographical peculiarities, trad music and more is explored in such a way that the viewer will feel they’ve already been welcomed in to the pub, heard a song on the Irish pipes, and had a nice chat with the locals!
33 MIN, M, USA, English
FOOD THAT SAVES YOU
Directed by: JOE VELLA
A man overcomes depression and his wife’s death with a passion they used to share.
4 MIN, GA, USA, English
NYANGA
Directed by: MEDHIM TEWOLDE SERRANO
During the colonial era, Nyanga was kidnapped off the coast of Africa, brought to Mexico and enslaved. Though forced to work on the master’s plantation, he never stopped dreaming of freedom.
20 MIN, GA, MEXICO, SPANISH (SUBTITLES)
TWO VILLAGES
Directed by: DAVID GITONGA GACHANJA
When elephants fight, the grass gets trampled. For the remote village of Chemengwa, nestled in the heart of Kenya’s Masai Mara, the culprits of their devastation were not local adversaries but Canadian politicians and Canadian media entities continents away, leaving behind a trail of hopelessness and despair.
37 MIN, GA, KENYA, ENGLISH
7:00PM
CURSE OF THE TOTEM
Directed by: Jason Chong
Based on the true and ancient rituals of sacrifice from the 13th century in Borneo, Jerunei tells the story of Dr. Sani and a team that goes in search of his wife, who disappeared on an expedition to study a mysterious Jerunei (Burial Pole). Combing through the jungle for answers, each member of Dr. Sani’s team faces hallucinations, malevolent disturbances, and is transported to strange places. Things take a turn for the worse when one of them is taken over by dark forces from beyond the Jerunei.
89 MIN, M, MALAYSIA, MALAYSIAN (subtitles), FEATURE
Tuesday, April 23rd
1:OOPM
SHORT BLOCK 12:
BASEBALL BEHIND BARBED WIRE
Directed by: Yuriko Gamo Romer
The story of Japanese American incarceration during World War II through the lens of baseball. Despite being stripped of civil rights and confined from 1942-45, Japanese Americans embraced baseball to assert their citizenship and loyalty amid guard towers and barbed wire. Throughout this arduous history, baseball remained an unwavering thread of resilience.
32 MIN, GA, USA, ENGLISH
STALKING THE BOGEYMAN
Directed by: Markus Potter, Jack Dorfman
The true story of investigative journalist David Holthouse who plots to kill the man who sexually abused him when he was seven years old. A reconstruction of the intended murder and outcome, blending live-action, animation, and documentary elements. Based on the Outer Critics Circle Award nominated Off-Broadway play.
9 MIN, GA, USA, English
THE INSIDE SINGERS
Directed by: Daniel Kolen
A choir of half inmates and half outside volunteers practices once a week in preparation for their biannual concert. And a formerly incarcerated member of the choir tries to get back into prison to see the concert. A documentary about the power of music changing how those who are incarcerated see themselves.
30 MIN, GA, USA, ENGLISH
PRESCHOOL TO PRISON
Directed by: Dr. Karen Baptiste
Most schools in the United States are built and operated like prisons. Zero-tolerance policies are used to justify suspension and arrests that set up a pathway to send children of color and children with special needs regardless of race to go from school to prison.
24 MIN, GA, USA, ENGLISH
3:30PM
THE CURE FOR HATE
Directed by: Peter Hutchison
In the Jewish tradition “t’shuvah” describes the return to God and our fellow human beings made possible through repentance for our wrongs. “The Cure For Hate” documents the powerful journey of former White Nationalist leader and Holocaust denier Tony McAleer, as he travels to Auschwitz in the spirit of t’shuvah, to bear witness to the inconceivable ravages of the Holocaust.
80 MIN, GA, USA, ENGLISH,DOCUMENTARY
6:00PM
BA
Directed by: Benjamin Wong
When a struggling father makes a Faustian bargain and becomes the incarnation of Death, he must fight to unwind his fate while keeping his predicament hidden from his daughter. A dark fantasy drama.
79 MIN, M, USA, ENGLISH, HORROR/THRILLER, FANTASY,DRAMA, FEATURE
DeSoto House Hotel
230 S. Main St.
Galena, IL 61036
